1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic flat-article separating apparatus for use in an automatic mail-handling system and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An automatic feeding apparatus for flat articles such as cards, envelopes and postcards, is designed, as shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,952,457, to feed the flat articles one by one. In such an apparatus, a plurality of flat articles are often transported as they are overlapped with each other. Such overlap-feeding causes errors in the automatic mail handling system. To guarantee accurate mail handling, the overlapped flat articles must be separated from each other.
For this purpose, various kinds of flat-article separating apparatuses have been proposed. However, those conventional apparatuses have a complicated mechanism and require a large space for installation, despite their relatively low reliability.